Hibana: The Spark
by tracylay
Summary: Hatake Shiori just graduated from the Academy and placed into a three man squad like all Genin. This is her story as she discovers what sparks her Will of Fire. Hyuga Neji x OC. (Slight Uchiha Sasuke x OC)
1. Enter: Team 3

**Scroll 1: Enter - Team 3**

Shiori blew a strand of hair out of her face as she waited for her assignment. She had just passed the Genin Exams a week ago and was now awaiting her team assignments. She glanced over to the other graduating Genin that were in the classroom with her.

As usual, she sat next to Neji, who, other than a small nod of acknowledgement, said nothing else. She liked to think that she hit it off with the Hyuga after they were paired up for a sparring session one day due to their names being next to each other on the roster.

"Is something on my face?" Neji inquired, snapping Shiori out of her thoughts.

The silver haired girl looked at Neji, blinking owlishly. She gave a small smile and responded, "I'm just thinking how I'm gonna miss all our talkative conversations."

The Hyuga gave a small _hn,_ but made no further comment. She smiled back. After that one particular sparring session, she quickly found out that she was Neji's favorite partner, as he had asked her to spar with him whenever they were able to do free pairups.

He wasn't the most friendly or talkative guy around, but he kept good company. He was a good listener.

Iruka stepped into the room, catching everyone's attention. Her eyes snapped to him, and she waited patiently as he looked at the clipboard in front of him.

"Congratulations to all of you for graduating," Iruka said proudly, looking at each and every individual student. "You are all now full-fledged ninja and will all be placed in three-man cells now. Together, you all will grow as individuals and as a team. Now, Team One…"

Shiori angled her head, looking at the other person that was beside her. The boy returned her gaze, his light brown eyes meeting hers with a small note of amusement. He was a transfer from Takigakure a few months back and Shiori didn't know much besides his name, his land of origin, and the fact that he doesn't like taijutsu that much.

"Team 3: Hatake Shiori…" her ears perked up and she turned to look at Iruka as he continued, "Nachi Haru…" her eyes fell on the boy beside her, "and Hoki Hajime."

Her eyes trailed to a boy that sat three rows down from her. His own bright green eyes met hers and his sun-kissed light brown hair fell over his forehead as he gave a grin and a small wave to Shiori and Haru.

_Well,_ Shiori thought, _at least I have friendly teammates._

"Team 9: Hyuga Neji… Tenten… Rock Lee."

Shiori's brows raised in interest and she looked to Rock Lee, who was given an exempt from doing the _Bunshin no Jutsu _as a graduation test and instead given a taijutsu one. He barely passed, and she vaguely wondered how he'd do on a team with Neji, who got the highest scores overall out of all the graduates.

She realized her team was quite talented, as she had gotten the second-highest taijutsu score, Hajime the highest genjutsu score, and Haru the second-highest ninjutsu score. She also knew for a fact she and her teammates were in the top five of the other categories in their class of forty-five.

Tenten, Neji's other teammate, was another top five scorer, having scored high in all categories except taijutsu, where she made top ten, which was still commendable.

Iruka wrapped up his pep talk after, and went on to explain their Jonin sensei would come after lunch was over.

The class was adjourned, and Neji quietly took out his bento, causing Shiori to turn to him curiously as she saw from the corner of her eye, Hajime was walking towards them.

"Aren't you going to eat with your teammates?" Shiori asked, cocking her head to the side.

"I'll be eating lunch with them practically every day for the foreseeable future," Neji simply replied calmly. "Why should I start now?"

"To build up that teamwork!" Hajime exclaimed, now near the three newly-promoted Genin.

Neji gave a small grunt, turning to face the window, ignoring Shiori and her newly-formed team.

"Well, we already know each other," Hajime commented, brushing his brunet locks out of his face. "How about we tell each other something we don't know?"

"How about a haircut?" Haru pointed to Hajime's long hair, taking note that it was reaching near the end of his shoulders.

"I'm going later today." He cleared his throat and explained, "Well, I come from the Hoki Clan and have been trained in Medical Ninjutsu, so rely on me when you're injured." Hajime gave a bright smile and Shiori found herself returning the gesture.

Haru leaned forward, propping his chin on top of his palm, looking at his male teammate. "If we're talking about abilities… As you guys know, I'm from Kirigakure and I know Ranton jutsu."

Shiori and Hajime arched their brows and looked at the former transfer student. "So can I," they echoed, before they looked at the other incredulously. Haru's brows disappeared into his bangs and Neji moved his eyes to focus on the team beside him out of curiosity. All three of them possessed the same chakra elements?

Neji glanced at the silver-haired girl that wedged herself in his life. He was perfectly content being alone and everyone was fine leaving him to himself; but the girl two years his junior beside him absolutely refused to let him be.

"Hyuga Neji and Hatake Shiori."

Seven-year-old Neji silently observed the young girl that had just transferred to his class. She was the smallest in his class, which made sense, considering she was originally part of the beginning class. Based on recommendation and skill, though, she was pushed to his class.

From their monthly test, Neji could see the young girl was rightfully in his class, given her status as one of the top five scorers. It made sense, considering her lineage. Neji had heard of _Kakashi no Sharingan_, who picked her up from the Academy every now and then.

"Hi!" the young girl bounced over to him, grinning widely at him, showing off her white baby teeth. Neji simply looked at her, giving no greeting. She wasn't deterred, and grinned. "So you're a Hyuga, huh? That means you must be really good at taijutsu!"

Neji simply said nothing, but got ready. Shiori frowned slightly, but got into a fighting stance as well.

"Begin!"

Neji watched in interest as the young girl's demeanor changed. Gone was the cheerful, happy girl. Replaced was a serious, determined girl with blue eyes as cool as steel. She waited a beat, scanning Neji before disappearing.

Neji's eyes widened in shock, surprised at the speed for her age. However, a shadow gave her away and he jumped out of the way, just as she landed where he was.

He whirled around, throwing a punch, taking advantage of the time she needed to recover. It was easily deflected and before he felt a light _thump_ where his right shoulder was.

"Winner: Hatake Shiori!"

Shiori grinned widely. "You were open here." She stepped away from the ring and Neji's eyes followed her. She had talent, that one.

Following lunch, the new Genin were ordered to sit at desks with the new teammates. Seeing as Shiori and her teammates were already sitting nearby, Neji chose to get up quietly and leave. He gave a small "Bye," to Shiori's enthusiastic, "Bye, Neji!"

"I can't believe you're friends with him," Hajime sighed, climbing over the desk and sitting where Neji was originally.

"I'm more surprised that she got a response," Haru commented from Shiori's other side.

Shiori frowned, looking at her teammates. "He's a nice guy." At their looks, she elaborated, "When he wants to be. He's just got… some issues."

"I'll say," Hajime muttered, but pushed the topic no further. He didn't want to upset Shiori. They had limited interactions before all this, but she was always friendly. A bit cheeky, but that was fine.

"I wonder which sensei will come first…" Shiori mused aloud before the door suddenly slid open with a loud _clack_.

Her eyes widened in shock at the great timing and then pursed her lips. She put a fist over her mouth when she spotted the man clad neck to toe in green spandex with orange leg warmers. At the wide grin that practically blinded her, she instantly felt pity for the team that had him as a Jonin sensei. Might Guy was a handful.

"Where is my wonderful, youthful team?!" he cried happily, scanning around. "Calling Team 9!"

Shiori choked on air as she immediately glanced to where Neji, Lee, and Tenten were. Neji and Tenten looked like they wanted to disappear whereas Lee looked on with a determined look. He raised his hand in the air. "Here, sensei!"

Guy turned to Lee and grinned. "Excellent! Come! Meet me at the roof where we can learn all of each other's youthful lives!" Without another word, he disappeared.

Some giggled in amusement at Team 9's Jonin sensei's entrance, but were all silenced by Neji's sharp glare. He looked like he wanted to murder someone as he pushed himself out of his seat, heading out the room with his teammates shortly behind him.

"Of course Guy-sensei would be the one to be here first," Shiori commented.

"You know him?" her brunet teammate looked at her curiously.

Shiori smiled slightly. "He calls himself Papa's 'eternal rival.'"

The door slid again, this time more gently as a man stepped into the room. Shiori looked curiously at the young, handsome man with short black hair that was parted to the right side, covering his black hitai-ate slightly. He looked around with his bright blue eyes that resembled the skies.

He was dressed in black clothing that was similar to the Jonin uniform with a flak jacket over him.

"Team 3?" he looked around patiently.

Shiori, Hajime, and Haru pushed themselves up. "_Hai_!" The man looked up at them and smiled and Shiori was reminded of a prince.

"C'mon," their sensei gestured for them to follow him. "We're going to be getting to know each other."

Shiori led the way for them to follow their sensei. He led them to the training grounds of the Academy and they all took a seat underneath a tree.

"My name's Miura Kyo, and I'll be your sensei," their sensei greeted with a small smile. "Let's start off to get to know each other. For example, your likes, your dislikes, your ambitions, your strengths, and your weaknesses. Let's start off with you." He looked at Haru, taking in his somewhat reserved appearance as his short hair was cropped just above his ears. His brown eyes scanned at his teammates and then to their sensei.

Haru opened his mouth and explained, "My name is Nachi Haru. I like swimming and training I don't really like the heat. My dream is to become a respectable shinobi and to…" he trailed off, pausing for a bit, "work with the demon inside me. I'm good at ninjutsu and I'm not terrible at it, but I'm not the best at taijutsu."

"Demon…?" Hajime looked at Haru thoughtfully.

Haru looked thoughtful for a bit before explaining, "I uh… I have the Three-Tails from Kirigakure sealed inside of me." He hesitated for a bit and explained, "I… I suppose since we're teammates now, I should let you know." He frowned a bit, letting out his secret. It was the reason why he and his family left Kirigakure. The village shunned him for what he had no control over and only looked to him as a weapon.

Kyo stayed silent, looking at the dark-haired boy in front of him. He already was privy to this information and he glanced at his two other students, watching carefully at the thoughtful looks on their faces.

"Okay," Shiori finally said.

Haru looked absolutely confused. "What?"

"Okay," Shiori repeated. "We'll help you control your powers!" She stood up, her hands in eager fists. "It'll be really helpful, right? You can be an even better shinobi if you can control whatever is sealed inside you, right?"

"Shiori," Hajime grabbed one of Shiori's wrists. "He has something that's similar to the Nine-Tails that attacked."

The silverette looked at Hajime. She knew what the Nine-Tails was. Everyone knew. "So?" she asked, looking at her teammate strangely. "What's that got to do with anything? It's not like Haru did anything."

Hajime looked thoughtful for a moment, remember what his clan taught him about how dangerous and evil the Nine-Tails was. Then he looked at Haru, who didn't meet his eyes. He thought back to their lunch conversation, which was normal and actually quite fun.

Kyo watched carefully as the light haired boy on his team reach over to the Jinchuriki of their team, and threw his arm around the boy, bringing him close. "Yeah, Shiori's right. We'll totally help you."

Haru gave a small smile and Kyo couldn't help getting one either. He had a good team. Kyo looked over at the girl who was still standing and chuckled, "Why don't you introduce yourself next, Ojou-chan?"

He smiled at her, taking in the way her wavy pigtails bounced as the wavy bangs that framed her face almost looked blonde in the shadow of the trees. Her large, bright blue eyes that were a couple shades darker than his own burned with determination and confidence. It made sense why she was so confident. He had seen the brief explanation of his team and knew that if they could pass tomorrow's test, they'd be a team that would go down in history.

Shiori grinned cheekily before stating, "My name's Hatake Shiori! I like training and eating. I don't really like being bored, so I always try to hang out with someone. Oh, I also don't like onions. I wanna be a strong kunoichi so I can protect everyone I love and be fast enough to help them! I always want to be there for them." She smiled fondly. "I think my strengths are taijutsu, especially my speed. I'm really fast. I'm also good with shurikenjutsu. My weakness would have to be genjutsu."

"Oh, I can help you with that," Hajime pointed out to Shiori, regarding her weakness. Shiori nodded before plopping herself down between her teammates.

The boy brushed his hair out of the way and Kyo wondered if he was growing out his hair. Hajime looked around and said, "Guess I'm the only one left so I'll go. My name's Hoki Hajime. I like training and reading. I don't like the cold. I want to be a great ninja so I can support my teammates and friends. My strengths are iryo-ninjutsu and genjutsu. My weakness would have to be ninjutsu, but I'm not that bad."

Kyo crossed his arms, nodding thoughtfully. Listening to their introductions, he realized that he had quite a balanced team. "Anything else I should know?"

He watched as his three students glanced at each other before they announced at the same time, "We all can use Ranton jutsu."

Kyo blinked. That was something he was not informed. "You all use Storm Release?" he repeated, just to be sure. When they nodded, he hummed in thought. "That's quite rare for an entire team… a _Genin_ team at that, to know two elemental types. This would be very good with team attacks." He was mainly more of a Wind Release user, but he was pretty decent in Lightning and Water Releases.

"But first…" Kyo stood up, brushing the dirt off his pants. "You have to pass one final test." Three pairs of young, curious, large eyes looked up at him. He smirked. They were kind of cute. "Meet at the Second Training Ground tomorrow morning at seven." Without another word, he disappeared in a poof of smoke.

"I wonder what the test is…" Haru crossed his arms thoughtfully.

Shiori stood up again, brushing the dirt off her blue shorts. "Guess we'll find out tomorrow. I guess we can go home now, right?"

"I'd assume so," Hajime nodded, standing up himself. Haru followed suit. "Did you guys want to get dinner later tonight?"

Shiori frowned. "My Papa should be coming home from his mission today. He said he'd treat me out for passing my Genin exam before he left last week." She snapped her fingers thoughtfully, "How about we go tomorrow with Kyo-sensei so he can pay?"

Haru and Hajime gave grins before Hajime threw his arm over Shiori. It was quite different than doing it to Kyoya, since Shiori was so much smaller. "I like how you think, Shiori."

Shiori returned the grin and pulled away from him, eager to see her father. "I'll see you guys tomorrow!"

"Bye!" Haru and Hajime waved before they watched Shiori jump into the air, landing on the fence that separated the Academy from the streets. She jumped once again, disappearing from their sight.

"I'll see you tomorrow then?" Haru looked at Hajime once Shiori was gone.

"Yeah," Hajime nodded. Haru gave a small wave before starting to walk away. The brunet waited a beat before exclaiming, "Wait, Haru!" He ran after the boy, catching up with him as they headed to the Academy entrance.

Haru moved his brown eyes to look at the slightly taller boy. He waited, wondering what his teammate wanted to say.

"Sorry," Hajime apologized. "About earlier. About the whole…" his voice was brought down to a whisper, "Nine-Tails thing."

Haru blinked in surprise. He wasn't expecting an apology. He gave a small smile to Hajime, stating, "Don't worry about it."

Hajime shook his head stubbornly. "No, no," he refused. "I shouldn't have said that. You're my teammate and my friend now. We're _nakama_."

The dark haired boy looked taken aback before he gave a small smile. "I'll forgive you if you treat me to a small snack."

"Deal!" Hajime exclaimed. "Dango okay?"

"I'll go order ten sticks then," Haru took off.

"W-wait! I don't have that much money!" Hajime cried, running after the Jinchuriki. Haru gave a laugh and Hajime couldn't help but laugh, running past some Academy students who were currently leaving.

A small, young boy with spiky blond hair and large, sky blue eyes looked up from the floor as he heard the cheerful laughs. He looked up just in time to see two boys with hitai-ate around their foreheads glinting against the sun as they ran past him.

He gave a small, rueful smile, the whiskers on his cheeks moving slightly. _One day,_ he thought. _One day, I'll have a teammate I can laugh with._

* * *

**References:**

Tomori Nao (_Charlotte)_ as Hatake Shiori

Tsubaki Kyota (_Kyou, Koi wo Hajimemasu_) as Hoki Hajime

Mabuchi Kou (_Ao Haru Ride_) as Nachi Haru

Usui Kyo (_Black Bird_) as Miura Kyo

* * *

**A/N:** Remember to leave a review and see you next time!


	2. The Test of Teamwork

**A/N:** So, actually, I had this published on AO3 a long time ago already, but I totally forgot to update here. ^^;; I have the same username on AO3 if anyone just wants to go over there instead, since I actually prefer AO3's!

* * *

"_Ohayo_!" Shiori greeted, waving to the two boys who were talking amongst themselves in the clearing.

At the sound, the two turned, giving Shiori small smiles of acknowledgement. "Shiori!" Hajime exclaimed, waving the girl over. Haru gave a small nod of acknowledgement, causing the young girl to smile wider.

"How'd you sleep?"

"Like a baby," Shiori sighed out. "Papa treated me to okonomiyaki and then dango afterwards. It was sooo good!"

Hajime gave a small chuckle before a poof of smoke appeared before them. When the smoke cleared, Kyo stood in front of his students, a smile on his face. "Good morning."

"_Ohayo gozaimasu _, Kyo-sensei!" his three students greeted, causing the man to smile. They were so cute. They all watched as he pulled an alarm clock from his weapons pouch.

Kyo placed the clock on a nearby tree stump and they saw that it was already pre-set for at time. "All right," Kyo announced. "C'mon, gather round. I won't bite…" He threw them a casual smirk, "yet."

The young genin shuffled closer to the jonin and he gave a smile before a ringing echoed through the field as their eyes went to two bells. "Now, the rules are simple: get the bells from me before noon. Anything goes, but there is a catch." He watched them carefully as their eyes narrowed in suspicion. "The person without a bell at noon will be sent back to the academy."

Kyo watched as their faces shift to pure surprise as the three glanced at each other. What threw him off, however, was that they all stood up straighter in silence, giving each other one last look. "Okay," all three of them said at once.

Kyo's brows disappeared into his bangs. Usually, they would start arguing or protesting. _What an interesting team I've been given. _

"All right…" Kyo said after a beat of silence and they said nothing. He glanced at the clock, seeing it was 7:04. "We'll begin…" he waited for it to be 7:05, "now!"

At once, the three genin dispersed, leaving Kyo in the now-empty field by himself. He wondered what his little students were up to.

Not so far away, Shiori crouched in the tree with Haru and Hajime. "There's no way we can take down a jonin by ourselves," she said without preamble.

Her two teammates nodded at her. "Truce until we get the bells?" Hajime proposed. They both nodded, but then looked at Haru, who was deep in thought. "What is it?"

Haru glanced at the male teammate before looking at Shiori. "What… what if that's not the case?" he asked.

"What do you mean?" Shiori cocked her head to the side. She was fine with teaming up with Haru and Hajime and then it becoming a free for all.

Haru looked at Shiori and he blinked. Were her eyes always that bright? He shook his head. Nah, it was probably the darkness of the trees they were hiding in. "Think about it. We graduated from the academy, but we have to do another challenge?"

"You're saying us being sent back to the academy is a fib?" Hajime inquired curiously.

"Not quite," Haru shook his head and it was like he could see something lighting up in Shiori's head.

"The purpose isn't to just get the bells," she murmured, seeing recognition pop into Hajime's head.

"The purpose is to work together," Hajime finished. His theory was further backed by his teammates.

Shiori looked at all of them and recited, "A ninja must see the hidden meanings within the hidden meanings."

"All right," Hajime nodded. "What do we do?" Both he and Haru looked at Shiori.

The young girl blinked in astonishment. "Wait, why me?" She wasn't used to others stepping her back in order for her to take charge. In fact, they usually forced her into submission.

"You teamed up with Neji a few times and decisively beat everyone during mock survival tests, didn't you?" Hajime inquired. "Who's the leader generally?"

"Me," Shiori answered without hesitation. "Neji was only leader once."

"If that prideful jerk lets you take command, that means something," Hajime responded, ignoring Shiori's "He's really nice when you get to know him," comment. He looked at Haru and said, "I don't know about you, but I think Shiori's tactics would do us really well."

Haru nodded. "I agree."

Shiori gave a sigh. "All right then. But I prefer if we stand as equals in the future," she murmured, her voice lowering, and the three inched closer to each other. The two boys nodded. "I don't know what Kyo-sensei can do, but it's gotta be something, since that crow's been looking at us for a while…" She moved her eyes to their northwest.

The other two followed her gaze and almost lost their balance as a lone crow stood on a nearby branch, eyeing them carefully.

"That means he can summon animals," Shiori responded. "From the looks of it: crows."

Back at the field opening, Kyo smirked as he sat on the tree stump. He stood up, stretching slightly as he saw his genin huddled closer. _They're good _, Kyo thought to himself. Never had the genin before them realized he had a summoning. _Time to get some exercise in. _

A couple minutes later, the bushes rustled before a streak popped out. He pulled out his kunai, stopping Shiori's attack as she appeared before him. Their kunai clashed with a loud _clang _and Kyo's foot shuffled back slightly from the intense weight.

With her speed, she was able to propel her full body weight, pushing against him. _Leave it to Kakashi's kid to be stupid fast, _he thought with a heavy groan. Kakashi was probably the fastest of all the regular jonin in the village, second only to Gai when he unlocked his gates.

It was smart of him to train her to utilize her speed, considering she was so small. Kyo made a mental note to help her focus on that before he noticed two blurs heading towards him from both sides. He shifted his grip and swiped up, causing Shiori to lose her balance and fall back.

She caught herself quickly, doing a one-handed back handspring and landing safely on her feet before Kyo jumped into the air, dodging Haru and Hajime, who came at him from both sides. As Kyo flipped in the air, his eyes met Hajime's bright green ones. The two narrowly avoided each other before front-flipping to land on their feet.

When Kyo landed, he almost lost his balance as the floor beneath him suddenly got muddy. He frowned as he stumbled, before a hole opened up beneath him. His eyes widened before he formed a hand seal, "_ Kai _!"

He grabbed both of Haru and Shiori's fists, tossing them into the air before they could grab his bells. He frowned, looking at Hajime in the distance, who relaxed his stance. "You have the highest genjutsu score out of everyone on this team."

"Ya got me," Hajime tossed him a toothy grin. "Too bad we weren't fast enough."

"_Suiton: Teppodama _!"

Kyo jumped out of the way, dodging the fast water bullet before a shadow appeared from above him. His eyes widened in shock as he spotted a giant water dragon, its large yellow eyes looking down at him. "_ Suiton: Suiryudan no Jutsu _!" he heard Haru's voice.

Kyo quickly formed hand seals. "_ Futon: Kuki Dangan _!" He blew out multiple wind bullets, putting a lot more force into it to destroy the water dragon. The water dragon splashed to the floor, wetting the ground and causing mud to form as Kyo landed on it easily.

He watched as a black cloud began to form beneath him, electricity crackling through it. He frowned, not recognizing the jutsu. He looked up, seeing Shiori and Hajime looking at him, removing their hands from their _Horse _symbol. His eyes widened, seeing the two use a jutsu at the same time.

"_Ranton: Raiunkuha _," Shiori informed him.

Kyo's brows furrowed. The Storm Release?

"_Ranton: Laser Circus _!"

Kyo's eyes widened jumping out of the way, landing on a nearby branch. They _all _could use the Storm Release? While it wasn't super rare for a team to all have the same element, it was different when everyone on the team had the same _two _elements.

_Also, normally genin don't even _know _two elemental styles, much less fusing them, _Kyo thought to himself. He was in for a treat training these kids.

Shiori jumped towards him, engaging him in a battle of taijutsu. She used her speed efficiently, blocking and attacking, but they were at a stalemate. Of course, Kyo was also going easy on her, but he was still impressed that she was able to keep up with him. Everytime Hajime or Haru would come, they would be easily thwarted, as they weren't that experienced in hand-to-hand combat.

Though, he shouldn't have been too surprised by Shiori's skills, given who raised her. He watched as Hajime healed a nasty cut Haru had gotten on his cheek and he had to note that the Hokage really outdid himself when he made this team.

The balance of this team was amazing, with each of them not only able to cover their weaknesses, but also work off of each others' strengths to create something even stronger.

Hatake Shiori was a taijutsu specialist, second only to the Hyuga that graduated in her class. Her speed was amazing and from the looks of it, her stamina wasn't so bad either. It was still a bit low, though, but he chalked that up to her inexperience in a true battle. Her offense was impressive, utilizing her small stature to avoid but still keep up with Kyo physically.

Hoki Hajime was a genjutsu specialist and given his lineage and what Kyo was witnessing, he was going to be a talented medical nin in the future. He was able to do the basic healing jutsu, which someone fresh out of the academy should not be capable of. Compared to Shiori's offense, he was an amazing support and defense shinobi.

Nachi Haru was definitely an enigma. He definitely wasn't showing exactly what he was capable of, but that most likely has to do with his fear of the Jinchuriki inside of him. Out of all of them, Haru definitely looked the least tired, which wasn't surprising, given his chakra reserves. Haru was the perfect balance of offense and defense.

Shiori pulled back, shrinking into the dark cloud of lightning that was created earlier by her and Hajime. He glanced over and saw Haru and Hajime had disappeared as well, utilizing the dark clouds.

Kyo frowned, before his eyes widened, feeling dark, ominous chakra around him. Haru stepped out of the clouds and the older man watched the red, translucent tail made out of chakra that swayed behind him slowly. Haru looked at him with a calm expression, before darting at Kyo with an amazing speed.

Kyo barely had time to react, dodging the claws that went towards him. "You can control the Sanbi?"

"His name is Isobu," was Kyo's response as a second tail formed. Kyo was sent flying back at a punch he tried to block. He caught himself before he crashed into a tree and kicked off the tree, feeling the bark fly off the tree from his force.

He charged towards Haru, but before he could land an attack, a wave of water appeared from the ground, preventing his attack from going through. He glanced over at Hajime and the boy gave a small wave. "Should you really be distracted by me?"

His eyes widened as Haru jumped through the water, the chakra giving him a protective cloak and he slid to the side, watching as Haru punched a hole through the ground.

He heard the sound of shuriken flying towards him and he pulled out a kunai, blocking the weapons, letting it bounce off. "Nice try, Shiori, but you'll have to do better than that!"

Shiori stepped out of the clouds as it started to fade away and she smiled. "You sure, Kyo-sensei?"

He furrowed his brow before he shifted to look at her, but then saw something. A red, translucent chakra trail was wrapped around her legs, once hidden by the clouds. It started to retract and Kyo followed it with his eyes, watching the third tail go back to Haru.

The dark haired boy held out an open palm and the once-long tail dropped something into his hand before fading away completely. Kyo's eyes widened when he spotted the two silver bells in the boy's hand.

Haru gave him a smirk as Shiori and Hajime walked up beside him, grinning.

Kyo gave a heavy sigh, unable to stop the laugh that bubbled in his chest. "Ya got me…" he placed a palm over his face. "Good job, you three," he said, just as the alarm rang throughout the field.

Kyo walked over to the clock, turning off the insistent ringing before spotting two shuriken on the floor near where he was standing. A recognition dawned on his face.

"_ Kage Shuriken no Jutsu _," Shiori said, stepping up to the sensei with her teammates. Haru handed over the bells, which Kyo took back.

"I should've known," the jonin muttered.

"But you didn't," Shiori quipped, causing the man to simply shrug. She was right. He got too cocky and let his guard down. He internally chuckled. He looked forward to working with this team.

"So do we pass?" Hajime inquired, looking at the man. "It was to see if we could work together, right?"

Kyo wasn't surprised that he revealed that bit of knowledge. He was watching them, after all. "Yes," he responded. "Congratulations. You guys are now officially Team Kyo."

The three formed a circle and high-fived each other, the sound of bells ringing in the air as their hands connected.

* * *

"I don't know if I can keep treating you kiddos when you eat so much," Kyo gave a teasing smile, watching as Shiori received her next set of dango. His only female student looked back at him with wide, innocent blue eyes. He smirked. She knew exactly what she was doing, that sneaky kunoichi.

As a celebration of their team forming, Kyo had treated them out to dango. He was, however, started to regret it, looking at the six plates that Shiori had already put away. She had eaten a total of eighteen dango and had just ordered three more. Where the hell did that tiny girl put it away?

She was about to say something, when she noticed a figure walk by, his hands in his pockets, eyes focused ahead of him. "Excuse me," she muttered to her teammates, leaving her seat, taking the dango sticks with her.

"Talk about dining and dashing," Hajime commented. His eyes fell on the boy she ran after, seeing the red and white fan symbol. "He's-"

"Sasuke!" Shiori called out.

The boy stopped walking at her voice, recognizing it immediately. He turned around, looking at her with cool eyes. "Shiori," he said coolly. His eyes fell to the hitai-ate wrapped around her forehead. Inside his pockets, his hands clenched into fists. He knew he was jealous of her talent, but he chose not to let his anger out on her. After all, she was helping him get stronger and she was his constant support, even from the very beginning.

* * *

Sasuke let out a huff, his lips stinging as the little bit of fire died from his lips. He winced when he touched his lips, which were lightly burned from the jutsu he was learning.

He jumped when something cold suddenly touched the back of his neck. He heard a light giggling and whirled around, recognizing the voice. "Shiori-chan!" he cried out in shock.

The silverette in front of him stopped giggling and smiled brightly at her friend. "Hiya, Sasuke! Looks like you might need this," she said, handing him a cold water bottle. He took it gratefully and the cold water felt heavenly on his warm lips.

Once he finished, he closed the water bottle and asked, "What are you doing here?"

"Mikoto-san said you'd be here. She said you were practicing the _Gokakyu no Jutsu _, so I decided to head home to get some cold water first before coming here," Shiori explained. "I'm spending the night."

Sasuke nodded his head. More often than not, Shiori's father was away on missions because according to her, he was a super strong ninja and his parents have explained that he was a very respectable jonin and thus sent on long missions. Because of this, Sasuke's parents were entrusted with Shiori so she didn't have to be home alone. When her dad was home, she'd be followed by a dog. Sasuke liked the dogs. They were really nice and they talked.

"How is it going?"

Sasuke frowned. "Not well. The most I get is a fireball this big," he gestured with his hands, about half a meter apart. "I don't know why it's not coming out bigger."

"Hm…" Shiori looked thoughtful. "What do you imagine?"

"A fireball in front of my lips," Sasuke responded.

Shiori nodded and looked thoughtful for a second. "How about you imagine the flow first?"

Sasuke cocked his head to the side. "The flow?"

"Yeah," Shiori nodded. "Look." She started to form hand seals with her hands. Sasuke read them, wondering what jutsu it was because it wasn't what he was learning. He watched as she pulled back and exhaled, a water ball flying out of her mouth at incredible speed.

"Whoa!" Sasuke exclaimed. "What was that?!"

"_Suiton: Teppodama _," Shiori explained with a smile. "I just learned it two days ago after practicing for two weeks. Papa showed me it!"

"You're so smart, Shiori-chan!" Sasuke exclaimed. He was a bit envious that Shiori had mastered her first jutsu and was in the grade above him despite being only five years old, but he was also proud of having such a talented best friend.

Shiori's cheeks flushed pink. "It's a basic jutsu," she waved off. "Anyway, it's pretty similar to your jutsu. What I imagine is the chakra in my belly moving up when I inhale, then when I exhale, I push the chakra out, focusing around the lips so it doesn't explode everywhere." She frowned. "It sucks if it does that."

"Did you choke?"

Shiori sighed. "Water even came out of my nose six times," she sounded almost defeated. Sasuke let out a giggle and Shiori let out one in response as well.

When their laughter settled, Shiori smiled. "C'mon. Let's practice." Sasuke nodded and began to form the hand seals, with Shiori by his side.

* * *

Sasuke snapped out of his memory as the girl waved a stick of dango in front of him. He frowned. "You know I don't like sweets."

"You were just in la la land and I wanted you back," Shiori responded, taking the dango out of his face and eating it. "I wasn't offering it."

Sasuke looked at her slightly annoyed. "What do you want, Shiori?"

"Jeez," Shiori frowned, though not really hurt by his statement. She was used to it, considering she hung out with Neji a lot. "I just wanted to say hi since it's been like a week." She recognized the way that he was going and asked, "You wanna train?"

Sasuke gave her a silent glance and Shiori smiled back. That's all she needed. She finished the rest of her dango and threw them in a nearby trash can. "C'mon," she said, grabbing his wrist. "Let's go!"

"Hey! Don't pull!"

Shiori let out a giggle and all but dragged Sasuke to the training grounds she and her team used.

As she ran off with the Uchiha, Kyo looked thoughtful while Haru and Hajime looked on, interested.

"I didn't know she knew the Uchiha the grade below us," Hajime commented casually. Who hadn't heard of the last surviving member of the Uchiha clan? He turned to Haru, "Did you?"

Haru shook his head. "We just started getting to know each other just yesterday."

"Oh yeah, that's true," Hajime mused. "So she's friends with the Hyuga and Uchiha geniuses. I guess geniuses just attract each other, huh?"

"Hyuga genius?" Kyo echoed.

Hajime snagged a stick of dango and ate one of the balls. "Hyuga Neji. He's on Team 9. Graduated top of our class."

"Oh, Guy's team."

"Did you mention me, Kyo?" a deep voice asked behind the three, causing the two genin to jump in shock while Kyo sighed heavily.

"Hey there, Guy," the dark-haired man greeted. "How are you?"

"Wonderful!" Guy gave a bright smile that almost blinded Hajime and Haru. "Meet my wonderful team that successfully passed the test!" He gestured to the three behind him. Kyo took a note of the Hyuga who looked visibly annoyed, the girl with twin buns kind of embarrassed, and a boy who had large brows look at Guy in admiration. He spotted Hajime and Haru and inquired, "Did they pass?"

"Have a seat," Kyo gestured to the three other genin, showing them where Shiori was originally sitting across from them on the table. "Yes, they did pass."

Before Guy could inquire where the third member was, Neji asked, "Where's Shiori?" to no one in general.

Hajime gave a sigh, leaning forward and resting his chin on his right palm. "Ran off with the Uchiha in the grade below us."

If Kyo wasn't so observant, he wouldn't have noticed the way the Hyuga gave the smallest of frowns before a poker face appeared on his face. He arched a brow in interest, but the Hyuga's small annoyance disappeared as fast as it appeared.

* * *

**A/N:** Hope you liked it! :)


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